Pfizer wins Viagra copycat case in China

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2006

BEIJING (AFP) — US drug maker Pfizer Inc has won a court case in China against two companies copying its immensely popular male impotency treatment Viagra, state media has said. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Wednesday ordered Beijing Health New Concept Pharmacy Co to stop sales of pills similar to Viagra, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The court also told Lianhuan Pharmaceutical Co, based in east China's Jiangsu province, to stop production and pay 300,000 yuan (38,300 dollars), according to the agency. Pfizer sued the two companies in September 2005, claiming "Weige," the Chinese name for Viagra, which they sold and produced, infringed on the registered trademark of Viagra, Xinhua said. Pfizer was awarded the patent for Viagra in China in 2003...